Comparative Study on the Medicinal Plants Most Recommended by Traditional Practitioners in Morocco and Canada

Abstract

ABSTRACT An ethnopharmacological survey was used to compare the medicinal plants most frequently recommended by herbalists, naturopaths, and other traditional practitioners in Moroccan and Canadian socio-economical settings. Striking differences in traditional pharmacopoeias were noted between Morocco and the Canadian province of Quebec, with only one plant, garlic, on both lists of the top 20 most frequently recommended plants. Therapeutic indications, however, showed more similarities with rosemary, lavender, oregano, and white mugwort being recommended against gastrointestinal upset/liver ailments in Morocco, as compared with chamomile, milk thistle, linden and dandelion for similar indications in Quebec. Central nervous system disorders were the second most important indications for medicinal plants (including St. John's wort, chamomile, ginkgo, valerian, and linden) in Quebec as compared with cold/flu/cough for plants indicated in the Moroccan survey (including oregano, lavender, black cumin, Syrian rue and white mugwort). Other common therapeutic indications included circulatory and renal problems in both surveys. In Morocco, native or Mediterranean plants form the greater part of the most commonly recommended herbal medicines, but in Quebec almost half of the recommended medicinal plants originate in Europe and only a quarter of the plants are native to eastern Canada. Similar findings were obtained when survey respondents were asked specifically about anti-diabetic plants. Only fenugreek was among the top ten plants indicated for diabetes in both Morocco and Quebec. The Mediterranean plants used in Morocco could possibly contain phytochemical principles active in several therapeutic indications common to North African and eastern Canadian socio-economical settings, particularly in diabetes.